TRC Report to Community

TRC Report to Community

Truth first.

Long silenced, in the years since the TRC report came out, a painful part of our history has emerged and Canadians have begun to learn about the lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples.

Seven generations of Indigenous children were taken from their families to attend these schools. Survivors have detailed the systemic abuse, malnourishment, indoctrination, disease and death that took place over the hundred plus years that the schools operated.

Introduction from Florence Glanfield - Vice-Provost, Indigenous Programming & Research. Read transcript »

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Bill Flanagan, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Alberta

Bill Flanagan
President and Vice-Chancellor
September 25, 2023

The University of Alberta respectfully resides on lands in Treaties 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10. In the spirit of reconciliation, the university is committed to working and living in good relations with Indigenous Peoples and nations who, through the treaty process, generously offered to share these lands with settlers from afar.

The foundational agreements in the treaties set out the collective responsibility to work together meaningfully and respectfully. This is a responsibility that the University of Alberta takes seriously. Over the past few years, the university has begun a journey to examine its past, acknowledge the challenges and opportunities of the present, and look forward as we set a course for the future of the institution, where Indigenous-focused teaching, learning and research are important parts of all that we do.

A key part of reconciliation involves transparency — we must be willing to assess how the university is taking up the Calls to Action issued by the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), and other associated work, across the institutional mandate. A first step in this ongoing effort is the first iteration of the Truth and Reconciliation Report to Community Dashboard. This report outlines what has been done to date to address the Calls to Action at an institutional, faculty and unit level, as well as areas where we must focus additional efforts and resources.

The commitment to reconciliation and Indigenous Initiatives is a key priority in Shape: A Strategic Plan of Impact, the university strategic plan that will guide us through the next decade of our evolution and growth. This builds upon the vision set out in Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan that is guiding the institution as we continue the work of decolonization and Indigenization.

I encourage you to read this report and to consider the meaningful ways you can help contribute to achieving the Calls to Action.

DEDICATION

The TRC Report to Community Dashboard is dedicated to Indian Residential School victims and survivors, their families and communities.

It is the University of Alberta’s hope that the current responses and those in the future will bring forward silenced narratives, in-power Indigenous presence in university spaces and beyond and support the broad aspects of Indigenous resurgence named in the National Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action.

The University of Alberta, its buildings, labs and research stations are primarily located on the territory of the Néhiyaw (Cree), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Métis, Nakoda (Stoney), Dene, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Anishinaabe (Ojibway/ Saulteaux) lands that are now known as part of Treaties 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10 and homeland of the Métis.

The University of Alberta respects the sovereignty, lands, histories, languages, knowledge systems and cultures of all First Nations, Métis and Inuit nations. To acknowledge the territory is to recognize the longer history of these lands. The acknowledgement signifies the University of Alberta’s commitment to Good Relations with First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples in our institutional work: “Leading with Purpose” — educating, researching and engaging in deliberate, purposeful ways — in order to make a lasting, positive difference.

Content advisory

The following content discusses the abuse of Indigenous children and harm to Indigenous communities in the Indian Residential School System and beyond. It also contains images of residential school students in an effort to memorialize and teach on this difficult subject matter.
Many may find this content distressing.

For former Indian Residential School students and their families, the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line provides 24-hour crisis support toll-free at 1-866-925-4419.

Resources can also be found at the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program.

Part 1

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

TRC Dashboard
The work and the subsequent report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) marked a pivotal shift in public awareness about Indigenous Peoples, histories and ongoing injustices. Following years of testimony from nearly 6,800 residential school survivors, in 2015 the commission released Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

The report exposed Canadians to the devastating impacts of Indian Residential Schools, colonization and restrictive measures such as the Gradual Civilization Act (1857), the Indian Act (1876-present) and broader efforts to forcibly assimilate or subjugate Indigenous Peoples. 

These are dark chapters of Canada’s history and it is hard to describe the extent of the destruction wrought by the Indian Residential School System (IRS). For one hundred and sixty-five years — 1831 to 1996 — more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children aged four to 16 were taken from their families and forced to attend residential schools in Canada. The aim: to eradicate Indigenous identity and, by extension, Indigenous rights by assimilating Indigenous children into the settler way of life.

Edmonton Residential School building, near St. Albert, AB, 1925-1936

Edmonton Residential School building, near St. Albert, AB, 1925-1936
(United Church of Canada Archives)

“Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to offer an apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools. The treatment of children in Indian Residential Schools is a sad chapter in our history. Two primary objectives of the residential schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their home, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption that Aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some saw it, as it was infamously said, ‘to kill the Indian in the child’.

We now recognize that it was wrong to separate children from rich and vibrant cultures and traditions, that have created a void in many lives and communities, and we apologize for having done this. We now recognize that in separating children from their families, we undermined the ability of many to adequately parent their own children and sowed the seeds for generations to follow. The Government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the Aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Official Apology, June 11, 2008

Indigenous children forced to attend these schools were forbidden from speaking their language and practising cultural or spiritual teachings. They were not allowed to see their parents or, in many cases, opposite-sex siblings at the same institution. Many residential school attendees were physically, emotionally and sexually abused, malnourished, sometimes starved and even experimented on, all with the full sanction of the government. Parents were denied the right to care for their own children, to pass on traditions and to experience family. Survivors have shared the particular pain they felt sending their children to residential schools after having attended one themselves and knowing what the experience would entail. Knowing the deep resistance to the Indian Residential Schools, Indian Agents leveraged parental concern for their children by promising local schools to those who would give up their treaty rights to enfranchise.

Scholars contend that despite the ostensible goal of educating Indigenous children, over the 160 years that the schools operated, they educated for inequality. Forced student labour was used to financially support the churches and other organizations that operated the schools. Most students received academic instruction for half the day, with the other half reserved for performing manual labour. Coupled with poor staffing and inadequate curricula, few students received an appropriate education: overall, most received a Grade 5 education by age 18. The legacy of these experiences is seen in the persistent attainment and employment gaps experienced by Indigenous Peoples to the present day.

Children pointing to a lesson on the past Treaty Day with staff, Morley Residential School, AB, 1945

Children pointing to a lesson on the past Treaty Day with staff, Morley Residential School, AB, 1945
(United Church of Canada Archives)

…On return to their home communities, they often felt isolated from their families and their culture. They had lost their language and had not been provided with the skills to follow traditional economic pursuits, or with the skills needed to succeed in the Euro-Canadian economy. Worst of all, they did not have any experience of family life or parenting.[1]

Due to terrible conditions at the schools, disease was rampant. Tuberculosis, meningitis and other infectious diseases killed thousands of Indigenous children. Dr. Bryce, Indian Affairs Chief Medical Officer (1904), was so shocked by the conditions and resulting death rates — ranging from 25 to 69 per cent in some schools — that he led a cross-country campaign to try to change that. Bryce noted that overcrowding was the norm, that children were denied medical care and that schools were rundown, lacked ventilation and kept sick children with healthy children even during outbreaks, allowing disease to spread. Bryce’s report was initially suppressed by the government but he subsequently published a book, The Story of a National Crime[2], in a bid to draw attention to the shocking conditions at the schools.

Scholars have noted that the chronic and intentional underfunding of Indian Residential Schools played a significant role in the high mortality rates among children attending these institutions. Government records reveal that the perilous conditions leading to these deaths were well-known among government decision makers. Throughout the schools’ operation, various officials raised alarms about the dire circumstances that Indigenous children were subjected to. Despite this, little to no effort was made to improve conditions. Scholars have identified the enduring and intergenerational impacts of residential schools, affecting the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being of Indigenous attendees and their descendants in Canada.

Number tags remain beside coat hooks in the mud rooms of the former Blue Quills residential school in St. Paul, AB, a reminder that students were often referred to by number in place of their given names.
(John Ulan)

Number tags remain beside coat hooks in the mud rooms of the former Blue Quills residential school in St. Paul, AB, a reminder that students were often referred to by number in place of their given names.

“It is well-established that Indigenous peoples in Canada experience a disproportionate burden of ill health compared to the non-Indigenous population. In large part, these health disparities have been a result of government policies to assimilate Indigenous peoples into the Euro-Canadian ways of life, leading to physical and emotional harms to children, lower educational attainment, loss of culture and language, and the disconnect of family structures. Many of the illnesses and conditions that are disproportionately experienced by Indigenous peoples, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, have therefore been attributed to the lasting effects of colonialism, including the Indian Act, the reserve system, and residential schooling.”[3]

Flags mark the number of children who died at Indian Residential Schools at a memorial organized by the Indigenous Students’ Union.

Flags mark the number of children who died at Indian Residential Schools at a memorial organized by the Indigenous Students’ Union.
(John Ulan)

As of September 2023, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Memorial register[4] has 4,127 confirmed names of children who died while at Indian Residential Schools. The commission acknowledged that the number of deaths in residential schools is likely significantly higher than what is officially known and issued Calls to Action 71-76 asking the federal government to accurately detail the number of children who died, to establish a National Residential School Student Death Register and to locate the bodies of children who died so that they can be properly memorialized.[5] Given the long-known reports in community about children who never came home and the research on unmarked and no-longer-marked graves across Canada, the anticipated total is expected to be significantly higher. 

“Consider what it means, what we’re talking about today: the enormity of it. Parents who had their children ripped out of their arms, taken to a distant and unknown place, never to be seen again, buried in an unmarked grave long ago forgotten and overgrown. Think of that. Bear that. Imagine that.”[6]

TRC Commissioner Marie Wilson on the day the Truth and Reconciliation report was released

Starting in the mid-1980s, organizations across Canada have been examining their roles and responsibilities in the Indian Residential Schools System. Official apologies from the United, Anglican and Presbyterian churches followed in 1986, 1993 and 1994, respectively, and the Government of Canada (2008), the Government of Alberta (2014) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2004, 2014).[7]

In October 2022, the Canadian House of Commons unanimously passed a motion calling on the federal government to recognize the legacy of residential schools as one of genocide. During a penitential pilgrimage to Canada in July 2022, Pope Francis offered an apology for the role that members of the Catholic church played in administering many of the residential schools, also acknowledging the Indian Residential School System as genocide.

Additional Resources

Legacy of Hope Foundation:
Where are the Children?
Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre:
Collections
Assembly of First Nations:
Learning Modules
The Canadian Encyclopedia:
Residential Schools Podcast Series
The National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education:
Reconciliation and NCCIE
First Nations Child & Family Caring Society:
Spirit Bear's Guide to the TRC Calls to Action

“I call upon all of you who are graduating today to recognize that you have an obligation to pick up that determination and to use your education, whatever it is, in whatever field it lies, to do what you can to contribute to a better society by helping us to create a better relationship amongst all of us. Miigwech.”

The Honourable Senator Murray Sinclair

University of Alberta Honorary Degree Conferral, August 2023

Part 2

Where are we now?

Where are we now?

In the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) landmark report in 2015, Canada has grappled with comprehending and acting on the Calls to Action. Nationwide, institutions have taken up the calls in diverse ways relevant to their diverse contexts. However, this work is very much at its inception.

On March 20, 2023, responding to Call to Action 46 and propelled by decades of Indigenous advocacy, the Catholic Church officially repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery. This doctrine, along with associated notions of European supremacy, was used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and Peoples. The church’s statement acknowledged that the beliefs that made Indigenous worldviews, cultures and Peoples inferior to European cultures and peoples wrongly provided the justification for the right to proselytize and conquer and that this belief “did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous peoples.”[8]

Graduate of the Faculty of Education at a Convocation ceremony
(Richard Siemens)

Graduate of the Faculty of Education at a Convocation ceremony
A class in penmanship, Red Deer Institute, AB, 1918

A class in penmanship, Red Deer Institute, AB, 1918
(National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation)

The Doctrine of Discovery fundamentally influenced the legal and societal constructs of dominance and terra nullius, the idea that unfarmed lands beyond the European continent inhabited by non-Christians were “empty land.” Terra nullius was used and continues to be used in legal disputes to argue against the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples across the globe. Following nearly 25 years of deliberation at the United Nations, in June 2021, Canada enacted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) which incorporates language repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius.

Remnants of the intellectual underpinnings of the doctrine and beliefs that champion the superiority of Western cultures and peoples persist. Spurred on by protest movements such as Rhodesmustfall, Idle No More and Black Lives Matter, there is a growing effort to critically examine Western exceptionalism, upending the dominant paradigm that centres Eurocentric worldviews, peoples and practices to the exclusion of others.

Universities, as influential hubs of thought and innovation, have undertaken initiatives to examine the impact of participation in historical transgressions, such as slavery, forced assimilation and colonization, and to consider how these can be researched, taught and redressed with a lens that addresses the structural inequities we see today.

“In recent years, and especially following the work begun by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), a shift in public awareness has illuminated the urgent need to address the structural causes of long-standing and pronounced inequalities faced by Indigenous Peoples today.”

President Bill Flanagan

Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan

Part 3

Truth first

Truth first

Critical work remains in researching, documenting and sharing scholarship about the lived histories of Indigenous Peoples. Within the realm of post-secondary education, this includes a responsibility to examine the role universities played in the establishment and operation of Indian Residential Schools and broader processes of colonization.

Many of Canada’s leading universities owe their existence to unceded land expropriated from Indigenous communities.[9] These lands, integral to constructing infrastructure or bolstering endowment funds, underscore a sombre reality: the foundational role of dispossession in the establishment of prominent educational institutions. Canadian university lands taken from Indigenous Peoples in Canada from 1828 to the present day equal nearly half a million acres.[10] Globally, British imperial and land-grant universities involve the disbursement of 15 million acres of Indigenous lands spread over three continents.[11]

The University of Alberta’s North Campus is on land that was a meeting place for diverse Indigenous Peoples and a territory of the Papaschase Cree, who signed an adhesion to Treaty 6 in 1877. The adhesion promised a reserve and treaty rights in perpetuity on the land. Despite their longstanding presence on the river’s south bank, colonial authorities, with ambitions of acquiring valuable land for settlers and investors, dispossessed the Papaschase and coerced the band to settle for a reserve two miles south which was also later disbanded.

In Canada, universities often originated from denominational colleges with an ethos centred in the right to proselytize, and they later educated the clergy, teachers, administrators and politicians that created, administered and, in many instances, staffed Indian Residential Schools. As sites for the development and preservation of ideology, universities contributed to colonization by enabling characterizations of Indigenous Peoples as savage, backward and inferior, which made domination via legal and other restrictions common sense.

Tom Hunter, a member of Saddle Lake Cree Nation, is a collections assistant at the U of A Museums who helps to preserve art and history.
(John Ulan)

Tom Hunter, a member of Saddle Lake Cree Nation, is a collections assistant at the U of A Museums who helps to preserve art and history as part of his role.

Inevitably, as the work of Truth and Reconciliation progresses, universities will come to learn about and share information on the organizations and individuals that participated in the Indian Residential School System.

This is uncomfortable to confront; however, robust scholarship was a key piece of the Calls to Action and at the heart of the university mandate.

Inuit doll depicting a mother tying a child's shoe

Inuit doll depicting a mother tying a child's shoe
(University of Alberta Museums Art Collection)

For example, L.B. Pett was the head of the federal Nutrition Services Division from 1948-52. He received his medical degree from the University of Alberta (1942) and also taught at the university (1936-41). A medical doctor and biochemist, Pett was known as the architect of the “Canada’s Food Guide” and the inaugural leader of the federal Nutrition Services Division in the 1940s. During that time, Pett saw malnourished Indigenous children in Indigenous Residential Schools as an ideal set of test subjects for nutritional experiments. He utilized these children to study the effectiveness of a variety of experimental nutrition interventions and non-interventions.[12] None of the experiments addressed the hunger or malnutrition at the schools even though, by Pett’s own calculations, the federal grant for food in most schools was half what was required to sustain a child.

Given this history, in 2022, the Lionel B. Pett Award (est. 2012) was renamed as the Graduate Scholarship in Biochemistry in order to better reflect University of Alberta values. The university is also widely examining policy and praxis as it relates to other matters. Examples include university processes for repatriating human remains and cultural objects, addressing problematic installations, art and namings. Efforts currently underway include The Medicine Hat Ancestors Reburial Project, The University of Alberta Library and Museums “Alberta History” Mural Project and Campus Saint-Jean’s decolonization process. The university is taking direction from Indigenous communities on how to navigate changes in these areas in a respectful, collaborative way.

As a further step to formalize support for this progress, in September 2023, the President’s Executive Committee endorsed the creation of a dedicated Naming Advisory Group. This group will act as a counsel and action body to support the work of U of A units in proactively reviewing functional, academic, honorific or philanthropic naming practices that may not reflect our current values, and will require the expertise and views of internal and external communities. Current naming policies and practices apply to items and events like university buildings, student scholarships, lectures, or academic programs. With this initiative the university is not interested in simply renaming or removing potentially problematic or controversial pieces of scholarship and history, but rather in holding space and engaging in purposeful dialogues, reviews or changes that best support the university’s commitment to reconciliation.

Alumna Elder Lynda Minoose, a member of Cold Lake First Nations, participates in a Supporting Indigenous Language Revitalization conference.

Alumna Elder Lynda Minoose, a member of Cold Lake First Nations, participates in a Supporting Indigenous Language Revitalization conference.
(John Ulan)

The work to bring these problematic pieces of our history in university spaces is not only an administrative task; it validates the lived experience of Indigenous Peoples. Despite the fact that the negative effects of residential schools have been well documented and that the Supreme Court[13] of Canada acknowledged these experiences, denialism remains pervasive. Many question the validity of official records, the transparency of the research, the value of investigation in the first instance, and the motives of residential school survivors themselves. There have been some, even political leaders, who have portrayed residential schools as positive experiences for Indigenous children, citing limited positive experiences as evidence that the schools were essentially benign. Survivors have said that this is a dangerous and painful distortion of the experience in reality.

The specificity offered by scholarship is powerful: validating these truths tackles counternarratives that aim to disprove and thus diminish Indigenous experiences in what is, for many, a deeply uncomfortable part of our shared history. The burden of countering denialism should not rest on the survivors and their families.

Without truth, justice, and healing, there can be no genuine reconciliation.

Reconciliation is not about “closing a sad chapter of Canada’s past,” but about opening new healing pathways of reconciliation that are forged in truth and justice. We are mindful that knowing the truth about what happened in residential schools in and of itself does not necessarily lead to reconciliation. Yet, the importance of truth telling in its own right should not be underestimated; it restores the human dignity of victims of violence and calls governments and citizens to account. Without truth, justice is not served, healing cannot happen, and there can be no genuine reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada.[14]

“Indigenous knowledge holders tell us that life and living is a cyclical and recursive journey. At the start of each new day, we have the wisdom from the days past to feed into that day’s journey, and as the day passes, we have an opportunity for new learnings that shape and change what we already know.”

Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan

Part 4

TRC Report to Community Dashboard

TRC Report to Community Dashboard

The University of Alberta affirmed its commitment to Truth and Reconciliation and to carrying out and reporting on the institutional response to the Calls to Action in For the Public Good (2016); Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan (2022); and in Shape: A Strategic Plan of Impact (2023), the university’s new strategic plan.

The TRC Report to Community also follows through on external commitments to make Indigenous Initiatives a crucial part of institutional goals. This includes commitments made as a member institution of Universities Canada, which recently adopted new Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation (2023; these succeed the 2015 Principles on Indigenous Education). Additionally, the University of Alberta signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (2017) and the Scarborough Charter (2021).

Work to support Indigenous teaching, research, student completion and community engagement is a key priority at the University of Alberta. Key examples include:

  • The Faculty of Native Studies is the only such faculty in North America. Rooted in an ethic of supporting Indigenous communities and teaching non-Indigenous people how to work responsibly with Indigenous communities, it is one of the world’s leading Indigenous studies units.
  • The Faculty of Education offers several programs related to Indigenous-focused teacher education and leadership including the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program (ATEP) and the Specialization in Indigenous Peoples Education.
  • The Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute (CILLDI) provides support for community-led Indigenous language revitalization efforts.
  • First Peoples’ House (and earlier iterations of the Aboriginal Student Services Centre and Native Student Services Centre) connects students to many support services including physical and mental wellness, spiritual and cultural support, academic resources, financial resources and housing.
  • The Transition Year Program (TYP) is a one-year university access program for First Nation, Métis and Inuit students that provides a strong network of support through small, intimate learning environments that combine both academic and cultural components. 
  • U School connects students in Grades 4 to 9 from socially vulnerable, Indigenous and rural communities to the U of A in an effort to increase the diversity of students in post-secondary education.

Participants in the Young Indigenous Women's Circle of Leadership
(John Ulan)

Participants in the Young Indigenous Women's Circle of Leadership

Since 2015, the University of Alberta has responded to the TRC mandate with an emphasis on capacity building and foundational change, building upon existing initiatives while also critically examining policy, pedagogy, research frameworks and hiring practices, among other initiatives.

A number of key Indigenous leadership roles have been put in place to support, resource and co-ordinate the work needed to carry out the Calls to Action and Indigenous Initiatives more broadly. This included the creation of the role of Vice-Provost, Indigenous Programming and Research (2019) to facilitate Indigenous-led institutional collaboration on the development and implementation of programs, services and initiatives related to Indigenous research and teaching, learning and community engagement.

Various translations of 'Braiding Past, Present and Future'

Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan, published in June 2022, reflects an important step in our institution’s commitment to reconciliation.

Key developments include:

  • Dedicated supports for Indigenous student recruitment and completion are a key priority as shown in the creation of the two roles of Assistant Dean, First Nation, Métis and Inuit Students in the Office of the Dean of Students (2018) and the Assistant Registrar, Indigenous Enrolment Management in the Office of the Registrar (2023). 
  • To ensure Indigenous-focused competencies in education and research are part of the curriculum, all new courses and programs put forward now require a review of Indigenous content to address the curricular gap named in the Calls to Action. 
  • Via Program Quality Assurance processes that review existing courses new guidelines have been put in place to guide Indigenization, Decolonization and Responding to the TRC Calls to Action in Academic Programs and Curricula. 
  • Increased numbers of Indigenous faculty and staff have been hired across the institution.[15]
  • The Faculty of Native Studies has focused on continuing education offerings to tackle the knowledge gap around Indigenous Peoples and histories. Reflecting the deep interest in Indigenous-focused content, the Indigenous Canada MOOC is the most popular MOOC in Canada with over 555,000 registrants worldwide. Other courses that pick up the work of the CTAs include Countering Stereotypes of Indigenous Peoples, Tackling Structural Racism and the Certificate in Indigenous Governance and Partnership, among others. The faculty also houses numerous research centres and projects, including the Rupertsland Centre for Métis Research, the Indigenous Governance Program, Indigenous Science and Technology Studies, the Indigenous Prison Arts Project and the Métis Archival Project.
  • The Supporting Indigenous Language Revitalization (SILR) projects provide support for community-led Indigenous language revitalization efforts.
  • The Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology (IPIA) is the first Indigenous-led and focused archaeological institute that developed and applies low-impact archaeological methods to survey unmarked graves at the behest of Indigenous communities.
  • Wâpanachakos, the Indigenous Health Program in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, aims to encourage a greater number of First Nations, Inuit and Métis students to gain access to, and graduate from, all Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry programs. 
  • In 2017, the U of A signed an MOU with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation that makes it part of a network of 16 Canadian post-secondary institutions that will digitally share archives and collections related to the Indian Residential School System — acting as a catalyst for research.

In 2022, the university launched its inaugural Indigenous Strategic Plan: Braiding Past, Present and Future. This work was led by the Indigenous Advisory Council and wide internal and external consultation on the plan. The accountabilities detailed in the plan are a hopeful roadmap, mobilizing university capacity to address the full scope of the calls.

Full Calls to Action

The Legacy Calls to Action seek to address the ongoing structural inequalities that affect Indigenous Peoples. These include Child Welfare (1-5), Education (6-12), Language & Culture (13-17), Health (18-24), and Justice (25-42).

The Reconciliation Calls to Action (43-94) deal with 17 subcategories meant to advance inclusion of Indigenous Peoples; educate Canadian society at large about Indigenous Peoples, residential schools, and reconciliation; and establish practices, policies, and actions that affirm Indigenous Rights.

Elder Eugene Makokis with his grandson
(John Ulan)

Elder Eugene Makokis with his grandson

During consultations for Braiding, a clear desire was expressed about the importance of benchmarking metrics to gauge the University of Alberta’s progress on commitments to the TRC Calls to Action. The dashboard was imagined as a comprehensive platform to collect and analyze data from across the university, communicating the institutional, faculty, and unit-level responses to the TRC in an interactive and searchable format.

More than three-quarters of the calls are devoted to education, directly or indirectly, with this aligned work having responsibilities for higher education.

The dashboard classifies information into two main groupings:

  1. The Calls to Action[16] issued specifically to post-secondary institutions ask that professions such as health, law, education, and business be educated in the histories of Indigenous Peoples and to bridge educational and employment gaps within them; that degrees in Indigenous languages be created and offered; that the educational and employment attainment of Indigenous Peoples be improved.  Note: CTAs 23i, 23iii, 50, 62, 62i and 62ii are included in this grouping as the University of Alberta is an active partner in helping to achieve this work as it is a key part of the institutional mandate with work in teaching, learning and research. We do this work in collaboration with government partners. For the post-secondary-specific Calls to Action, a “progress bar” colour-coding system has been employed to illustrate the progress made by the University of Alberta, as a whole, in the period of time (2015 - 2022).
    • Red indicates “little progress;”
    • Yellow “in progress;”
    • Pink “progressing with impact;” and,
    • Green “fully complete.”
  2. The Calls to Action that represent aligned work that falls within the mandate for teaching, learning and research at the University of Alberta are found in the second grouping.
    1. These contributions are organized thematically (Type) and their origin (Contributor). 
Janet Delorme is a member of the Kainai Nation, an administrative coordinator in the Faculty of Native Studies, and an avid beader.

Janet Delorme is a member of the Kainai Nation, an administrative coordinator in the Faculty of Native Studies, and an avid beader.
(John Ulan)

The consolidated data (2015 to June 2022) only includes contributions that were self-reported by university contributors. Thus, it may not encapsulate the entirety of work undertaken during this time period. For additional details on the methodology, please see below.

The collected data will form a baseline for reporting on the progress of Braiding Past, Present and Future. Following the 2023 TRC Report to Community Dashboard launch, updated reports are anticipated biennially.

The dashboard aims to distinguish between permanent structural responses to the CTAs and occasional or singular offerings. This distinction is vital to assess the enduring integration of structures, programs, and processes concerning Indigenous Initiatives within the university's operational framework, promoting sustainable and lasting change.

Consistent with Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan, and the work of Gaudry & Lorenz (2018)[17] , we use the terminology of Indigenous Inclusion, Reconciliation Indigenization, and Decolonial Indigenization an evaluatory benchmark.

Throughout the data gathering for this report there was evidence that the University of Alberta, as One University, is moving from “Indigenous Inclusion” into “Reconciliation Indigenization.” Different faculties and units are at different places on this continuum but, as an institution, there is evidence of “A vision that locates indigenization on common ground between Indigenous and Canadian ideals, creating a new, broader consensus on debates such as what counts as knowledge, how should Indigenous knowledges and European derived knowledges be reconciled, and what types of relationships academic institutions should have with Indigenous communities.”[18]

Throughout consultations on the university’s new strategic plan, Indigenization was identified as a key priority across institutional spaces. Shape makes clear that there is a deep commitment to reconciliation and Indigenous initiatives and one that represents the collective vision of the U of A community. Shape builds on the commitments set out in Braiding Past, Present and Future to enable transformative institutional practices that will move the institution forward along the continuum described by Gaudry and Lorenz.

Three circles depicting Gaudry and Lorenz’s spectrum of indigenization, moving from Indigenous inclusion on the inside to reconciliation indigenization and finally to decolonial indigenization.
Three circles depicting Gaudry and Lorenz’s spectrum of indigenization, moving from Indigenous inclusion on the inside to reconciliation indigenization and finally to decolonial indigenization.

Indigenous Inclusion

A policy that aims to increase the number of Indigenous students, faculty and staff in the Canadian academy. Consequently, it does so largely by supporting the adaption of Indigenous people to the current (often alienating) culture of the Canadian academy.

Reconciliation Indigenization

A vision that locates indigenization on common ground between Indigenous and Canadian ideals, creating a new, broader consensus on debates such as what counts as knowledge, how should Indigenous knowledges and European derived knowledges be reconciled, and what types of relationships academic institutions should have with Indigenous communities.

Decolonial Indigenization

Envisions the wholesale overhaul of the academy to fundamentally reorient knowledge production based on balancing power relations between Indigenous Peoples and Canadians, transforming the academy into something dynamic and new.

“The University of Alberta acknowledges that indigenization is an institutional journey that will likely take generations to address. Only intentional, conscientious, systemic changes can move the institution closer to these critical goals.”

Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan

Methodology

Background

During consultations for Braiding Past, Present and Future, a clear need was expressed for metrics to benchmark where the University of Alberta is at with respect to fulfilling its commitments to the TRC Calls to Action. Goal 2 of Braiding Past, Present and Future focuses on reporting and accountability, and Strategy 2.1 specifically outlines the University of Alberta’s responsibility to: “Publish a TRC Report to Community every two years to evaluate, report and act on institutional, faculty and unit responses to the TRC Calls to Action.” The 2023 TRC Report to Community Dashboard scope corresponds to the Calls to Action explicitly issued to post-secondary institutions and other selected CTAs.

Recognizing the extensive number of data sources, an initial inventory framework was created by the Office of the Vice-Provost, Indigenous Programming and Research (OVPIPR). The data is grouped between post-secondary-specific CTAs and aligned work. Aligned work was grouped thematically and also by originating area. Lastly, efforts were made to differentiate between structural, ongoing efforts and ad hoc or one-time, or limited-time offerings. The goal is to evaluate if structures, programs and processes in Indigenous Initiatives and the TRC response are embedded into university operations.

Information Gathering

This dashboard is based on data contributed by faculties, units within faculties, two affiliated colleges and vice-presidential portfolios at the University of Alberta and reflects activities completed between January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2022. Unless cited from other sources, the statistics and quoted material in this report originate from information provided by the faculties and affiliated colleges and vice-presidential portfolios.

The prospect of the TRC Institutional Inventory was first introduced to Dean’s Council in January 2021. In 2022, communications to leadership were initiated by OVPIPR. The framework was provided via Google Sheets and faculties were asked to self-report on activities relevant to the Calls to Action outlined. In April 2023, an updated Briefing Note was supplied to the internal community, informing them that the working copy of the dashboard reflected all activities and initiatives shared with OVPIPR to date. Some faculties have no content, as we did not receive contributions to the data-gathering exercises. Faculties and units had a final opportunity to review their contributions and provide additional submissions for activities and initiatives completed on or before June 30, 2022.

We recognize that not everyone may have had an awareness of this ask or the opportunity to contribute to it. Future iterations of reporting via Braiding will provide an opportunity to include additional information for faculties, units and portfolios.


References

  1. ^ Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; The Survivors Speak: A Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; as accessed at: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2015/trc/IR4-5-2015-eng.pdf on August 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Defining Moments Canada - Bryce @ 100; “The Story of a National Crime”; as accessed at: https://definingmomentscanada.ca/bryce100/the-story-of -a-national-crime/on August 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Piotr Wilk, Alana Maltby & Martin Cooke; “Residential schools and the effects on Indigenous health and well-being in Canada—a scoping review”; as accessed at: https://publichealthreviews.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40985-017-0055-6 on August 13, 2023.
  4. ^ Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; “National Student Memorial Register”; as accessed at: https://nctr.ca/memorial/ on August 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; Canada’s Residential Schools: Missing Children and Unmarked Burials: The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Volume 4; as accessed at: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2015/trc/IR4-9-4-2015-eng.pdf on August 14, 2023.
  6. ^ Maclean’s; “For the record: Justice Murray Sinclair on residential schools”; as accessed at: https://macleans.ca/politics/for-the-record-justice-murray-sinclair-on-residential-schools/ on August 13, 2023.
  7. ^ CTV News, “Canadian residential schools: A timeline of apologies” as accessed at: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadian-residential-schools-a-time line-of-apologies-1.5700824 on August 14, 2023.
  8. ^ Holy See Press Office, “Joint Statement of the Dicasteries for Culture and Education and for Promoting Integral Human Development on the Doctrine of Discovery (30.03.2023)”; as accessed at: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2023/03/30/230330b.html on August 14, 2023.
  9. ^ Caitlin P.A. Harvey, Native American and Indigenous Studies, University of Minnesota Press, Volume 8, Issue 1, Spring 2021, “The Wealth of Knowledge: Land-Grab Universities in a British Imperial and Global Context”; pp. 97-105.
  10. ^ Ibid.
  11. ^ Ibid.
  12. ^ Ian Mosby, Histoire sociale/Social history, Volume 46, Number 91, Mai-May 2013, pp. 145-172 (Article) Published by University of Toronto Press; Administering Colonial Science: Nutrition Research and Human Biomedical Experimentation in Aboriginal Communities and Residential Schools, 1942–1952 https://fns.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AdministeringSocialScience.mosby_.pdf.
  13. ^ Supreme Court of Canada, Supreme Court of Canada SCC File No. 37037; as accessed at: https://www.scc-csc.ca/WebDocuments-DocumentsWeb/ 37037/FM070_Respondent_National-Centre-for-Truth-and-Reconciliation.pdf on August 16, 2023.
  14. ^ Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, p. 12. 
  15. ^ University of Alberta, Census results for equity, diversity, and inclusivity (2019), as accessed at: https://www.ualberta.ca/equity-diversity-inclusion/strategic-plan-for-edi/surveys-and-reports.html on August 14, 2023. 
  16. ^ Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; “Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action” as accessed at: https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf on August 14, 2023.
  17. ^ Gaudry, Adam, and Danielle Lorenz. 2018. “Indigenization as Inclusion, Reconciliation, and Decolonization: Navigating the Different Visions for Indigenizing the Canadian Academy.” AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples 14 (3): 218–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1177180118785382.
  18. ^ Ibid.